Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › New Jersey › First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey
What happened to First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey?
First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey in Newark, NJ (earlier called First National State Bank of New Jersey and 1 other name) merged into First Fidelity Bank, National Association of Charlotte, NC on Jan 11, 1994. After 1 more change of hands, what was First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey is today part of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (Sioux Falls, SD).
The chain, step by step
From the day it opened to the bank at the end of the chain today. Each step is one entry in the FDIC's record.
- 1812First National State Bank of New Jersey opens in Newark, NJ
- Oct 9, 1983renamed First National State Bank
- laterrenamed First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey
- Jan 11, 1994MERGEDFirst Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey merged into First Fidelity Bank, National Association of Charlotte, NC.FDIC certificate 6385 ends; its business continues under certificate 33869.
- Mar 20, 2010MERGEDFirst Fidelity Bank, National Association (by then renamed Wachovia Bank, National Association) of Charlotte, NC merged into Wells Fargo Bank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 33869 ends; its business continues under certificate 3511.
- TodayOPEN
Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationMain office Sioux Falls, SD · FDIC certificate 3511 · 4,157 offices in 40 states on June 30, 2026Every Wells Fargo Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.wellsfargo.com
If you still have something from First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey as lienholder, start with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. In a merger the surviving bank takes over the other bank's loans, so it is the bank to ask for a recordable lien release; if the loan was sold along the way, it can tell you to whom.
The FDIC says it cannot process lien releases for banks that merged or were acquired without government assistance, which is what the record shows here.
Record the release with the same county office that recorded the original mortgage or deed of trust.
An old account, passbook or CD
Ask Wells Fargo Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey. A passbook or certificate shows an account existed. It doesn't show the money is still there, and the OCC notes that federal rules require banks to keep most account records for five years.
Accounts nobody touches are eventually turned over to a state. The OCC puts the usual wait at three to five years with no activity, set by each state's law. Search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and any other state they lived in. It is free to search and to claim through a state's own site, and MissingMoney.com, an official site of the state administrators' association, searches most states at once.
A safe deposit box
Ask Wells Fargo Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey office you used. The OCC says a box with no activity for three to five years (the period is set by state statute) is likely treated as dormant, and its contents may be turned over to the state's unclaimed-property program.
Box contents are not covered by FDIC insurance.
Not sure this is your bank?
Many banks shared a name. Match the city and the years above against your paperwork, or search again with the town.
Credit unions were never FDIC-insured and are not in this record; the NCUA credit union lookup covers those. Banks that closed before about 1970 are not in the FDIC's list either.
One caution: banks also sell single branches. If the office you used was sold to a different bank along the way, the account went with the branch, not with this chain.
This page is drawn from FDIC records and federal guidance. It is not legal advice, and BankBranches is not a bank or a government office. More detail: lien releases · old passbooks and CDs · safe deposit boxes · unclaimed money.
Where the guidance comes from ▾
Banks folded into First Fidelity Bank, National Association, New Jersey
12 banks merged directly into this charter; counting the banks those had absorbed earlier, 61 charters end up inside it.
| Bank | Ended |
|---|---|
| First Fidelity Bank, National Association, South JerseyBurlington Township, NJ | Mar 18, 1993 |
| First Fidelity Bank, National Association, North JerseyTotowa, NJ | Nov 12, 1992 |
| The Howard Savings BankNewark, NJ | Oct 2, 1992 |
| The Howard Federal Savings, FABerlin, NJ | Oct 2, 1992 |
| Morris Savings BankMorristown, NJ | Sep 27, 1991 |
| The First National Bank of Toms River, N.J.Toms River, NJ | May 22, 1991 |
| First Fidelity Bank, PrincetonMonmouth Junction, NJ | Apr 13, 1991 |
| City Savings, FSBElizabeth, NJ | Jan 11, 1991 |
| First Fidelity Bank, National Association, CountyTenafly, NJ | Jun 5, 1987 |
| Fidelity Union Bank/First National StateNewark, NJ | Nov 1, 1984 |
| The Bank of BloomfieldBloomfield, NJ | Jan 10, 1976 |
| Orange Valley BankOrange, NJ | Dec 4, 1970 |
Source: FDIC BankFind institution and history records, read Nov 15, 2026. The FDIC's list covers banks that ended in about 1970 or later. Look up certificate 6385 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.